Latest News

Dec 8th, 2008

Pou Defense Fund Event Huge Success

Special thanks to the more than 350 people who so generously have given to Dr. Pou's legal defense fund in conjunction with the December 3rd event and with Dr. John Ochsner's solicitation letter. 286 people attended the event which took place in New Orleans and another 64 doctors have contibuted in response to Dr. Ochsner's letter to date.

Several dignitaries including former White House advisor and new New Orleanian Mary Mattilin and city council member and leading reformer Stacy Head joined Honorary Chair and WWL radio host Garland Robinette at the event.

Special thanks to event hosts Anne and Edmund Redd for inviting us into their home.

Supporters in Houston have indicated their interest in holding an event to help retire Dr. Pou's sizeable legal debts during early 2009 and we are most grateful for their offer.

Again, many thanks to all who contributed and continue to offer their prayers and support.

Nov 14th, 2008

...she stayed. ...she served. ...she paid the price.

...now it's your turn to give back! Please Join Us!

WHEN: Wednesday, December 3rd 6PM - 9PM
WHERE: At the Home of Anne and Edmund Redd,
1427 Fourth Street

Click Here For The Invite!

Oct 10, 2008

Media Outlets continue to hound Dr. Pou, other docs, nurses and their patients over access to private medical records

Just in case anyone believed that things have returned to normal for Dr. Anna Pou and her colleagues, CNN and the Times Picayune are continuing their pursuit of access to medical records of patients at New Orleans’ Memorial Hospital during the harrowing days around Hurricane Katrina. Despite the decision of an Orleans Parish grand jury not to pursue allegations against Dr. Anna Pou and her nurse colleagues in July 2007, both media outlets have continued to assert their right to intrude into patient privacy issues and to foment new controversy where none now exists.

The media pursuit of confidential patient records and other documents collected by the state of Louisiana and the Orleans Parish District Attorney prior to the grand jury’s rejection of charges takes a new turn on Monday, October 13 when the Louisiana State Supreme Court will hear oral arguments from lawyers for CNN and the Times Picayune on one side and attorneys for the medical professionals who stayed and served patients in need during the August 2005 hurricane.

“The fact that after more than three long years Dr. Anna Pou continues to fight legal battles to protect her reputation is most disappointing and a sad commentary on media intrusion into the highly private lives of people who suffered and died at Memorial and their families. We believe that the rights of those who died and the medical professionals who sacrificed to serve them should be protected at all costs and we will vigorously make that point in Court on Monday,” said Rick Simmons, Dr. Pou’s attorney.

State Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, who soundly defeated then AG Charles Foti last fall, will present arguments that support the legal position of the doctors, nurses, and Memorial Hospital and oppose the public release of this highly sensitive and private information.

The Court is expected to rule on the CNN / Times Picayune request sometime in the next 3 months. A ruling in their favor will open thousands of pages of highly personal medical records and as yet unsubstantiated statements supposedly collected by investigators for Foti as he sought without success to build a case against Dr. Pou and her colleagues.

Stay tuned for more details…

Jul 26, 2008

White Coat Ceremony
By Dr. Anna Pou

Thank you. It is the highest honor that I could ever hope to receive. I am very grateful and humbled by it and hope that I can continue to be worthy of its receipt. . I would also like to thank my parents for teaching me honesty, hard work, courage, compassion and instilling in me the passion to always help others by their selfless examples. I would also like to thank my patients and all of you for continuing to challenge me to be the best person and physician that I can be.

I know that you have all been in the classroom for the past year and have many more hours to go, but the time spent with your heads in the books is extremely important to being a knowledgeable and competent physician. It is really fun to be able to apply what you have learned in the classroom to your first patient and the more patient encounters you have, the more you want to know. So it is our responsibility as physicians to be well read and informed so that we can make the proper diagnosis and render the best care to our patients. This is an important part of life learning, and cannot be underestimated. However, the best part is yet to come, that is the privilege of caring for another human being and being part of his or her life journey.

My father was an internist and when I was a child, he worked very long hours. In order for my siblings and me to spend more time with him, my mother would send us with him when he made his house calls on the weekends—yes, I did say house calls. I then saw the impact that he had on many people’s lives, but I did not fully understand why he sacrificed much of his time, for them at personal cost to himself and his family. I have come to understand over time why he did what he did, to be ever present for his patients.

As Sarah mentioned, I am a faculty member in the Department of Otolaryngology. I take care of patients with tumors of the head and neck, mostly cancer patients. I am a head and neck surgical oncologist and reconstructive surgeon. Many may find this to be impressive, but what is impressive is what my patients do for me. I am there from the time of diagnosis forward. When you give someone the diagnosis of cancer it forever changes their lives and the lives of everyone they love. As a physician, you enter into a life long contract with them. It is an awesome responsibility which brings with it many blessings.

When I was a resident and first started into practice, I thought that the most important thing that I could do for my patients was to cure them. I had to be the best surgeon around—there was no tumor too big or a case too technically challenging for me to do in order to “save” my patients. We all know that no matter how brilliant a surgeon or physician may be we can’t physically cure everyone, no matter the disease process, but what we can do is walk with them as they live with their disease. None of us knows the outcome of our patients, but we can do is to promise to fight for them, to never give up, to be there to the end and let them know that we will not abandon them and that they will not be alone.

And so, what I have learned over time is that performing surgery is only a fraction what my patients need to make them well. Prayer, positive attitude, family support, treating them from the heart and being continually present in their lives is a much larger portion of treatment.

I would like to read a quote from the book entitled “An Unquiet Mind” by Kay Redfield Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at John Hopkins University, which eloquently states what I have learned.

“Because the doctors cared, and because one of them still believed in me when I believed in nothing, I have survived to tell the tale. It is not only the doctors who perform hazardous operations or give life-saving drugs in obvious emergencies who hold the scales at times between life and death. To sit quietly in a consulting room and talk to someone would not appear to the general public as a heroic or dramatic thing to do. In medicine there are many different ways of saving lives. This is one of them.”

Imagine how lonely and frightened a patient must feel when he or she is given a life changing diagnosis or is gravely ill. Our patients look to us for all the answers and at times there are none and there is nothing else that can we can do except to listen, to sit quietly, to pray. There is a saying “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Don’t be afraid to be human—it is the one thing that our patients can identify with, our humanness –that we are real and touchable.

I have been told many times, not to get involved with my patients, not to give them my cell phone number—to do my work and to operate--- but not to get involved. I cannot imagine how hollow and empty I would feel as the relationships with my patients is what feeds my soul, not surgery—after all, as is commonly said, one can teach a monkey to do surgery.

Your patients become part of who you are. Listen to them, learn from them, they will teach you everything that you need to know; they will teach you not only about disease processes, but about courage, how precious life is, how to live and how to die.

Sometimes it takes a personal tragedy to let one realize how really important it is to have someone who is continually present for the duration, for the”long haul”. Following my arrest in July 2006, I learned just how painful and lonely life could be. I learned that the human bond of suffering is one that links us all together, it is something to which we can all relate and identify. I learned how much I need people to just be present. Thousands of people came to my aid and among them were my patients and their family members. They told me that I had been there for them and they would now be here for me. We share our lives with our patients. We hopefully grow old together.

All of you at LSU--- students, residents, colleagues and my partners---were there to comfort and support me. Although you were all dealing with your losses as a result of Katrina and trying to rebuild your lives, you helped me put one foot in front of the other and for that I am forever grateful. You all understood the need for us to be present for each other. It is often easy to overlook that the care givers often need care and emotional support. Our lives are demanding and we need to help each other get through this life as we help our patients and their families----after all we are human with our frailties and our fears.

As we all know, we do not care for patients in a vacuum—we depend upon so many other members of the team to help us. Collaborative efforts with multiple disciplines to improve treatment and outcomes of our patients is a very exciting part of practicing medicine, but one thing that is much more fun is to watch all of you grow into competent and compassionate physicians. One of my biggest joys is to teach medical students and residents, to push and challenge them to be the best they can be, to watch as they treat patients as they themselves would want to be treated.

As I see it, Medicine is a way of life, not a career, not a job. What could anyone do that could be more rewarding than working with a group of others to take care of those who are in need. Finding balance in my life has been a challenge for me. I am often torn between the needs of my patients, my own needs and the needs of my family. Along the way, we all make many sacrifices to be the best physician that we can be—but look at the hundred fold blessings and joys we receive for sharing our lives with our patients. I now understand why my father told me as a child, that although we needed him he had a responsibility to his patients and I now understand the difficult choices that he faced.

I would like to congratulate you all and your families for your accomplishments and look forward to seeing you on the wards.

Finally, I would like to share this award with all of you who exemplify humanism in medicine. Life following Katrina has been a challenge for everyone and you continue to preserve despite many obstacles. I am proud to be among all of you who have shown such courage and sacrifice by staying in Louisiana to continue to take care for the sick and the poor, to continue to educate future physicians, for continuing to give me the courage and strength to persevere.

Jul 21, 2008

La. doctor cleared in patient deaths recalls storm

Hurricane Katrina hospital horror: La. doctor cleared in patient deaths recounts storm scene
By MARY FOSTER

Trapped in a hospital with 2,000 people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Anna Pou recalls her throat burning from the rancid smell.

Toilets had backed up and temperatures in the eight-story building reached almost 110 degrees because the windows didn't open. Power had failed, levees broke and 80 percent of New Orleans was flooded, including the hospital basement where the generators were.

It was completely dark at night. Stories of murders, gangs raping women and children circulated through Memorial Medical Center, where the people, including more than 200 patients, feared for their lives.

Pou, the doctor accused — and later cleared — of giving lethal doses of drugs to four patients during the chaos recalled the four days of misery in a recent interview with The Associated Press. It was her most detailed account of the scene where 34 patients died since the storm three years ago.

"You can't really understand what it was like if you weren't there," Pou said. "Nothing can describe it."

It began as a typical weekend for Pou, who wasn't worried when she made her way to Memorial in August 2005.

Hurricane Katrina appeared headed to Florida. Even when warnings were issued for New Orleans, the respected cancer surgeon never thought of leaving. She stayed with her patients in what would become a personal and professional hell.

After the storm passed Monday, Aug. 29, it seemed the decision not to evacuate patients and staff was a good one. They didn't know levees were collapsing.

"We made it through the storm pretty good," Pou remembered. "On Monday, it was just a little hot, but we had some generators working and food and water twice a day."

By Tuesday, water was rising in the streets, eventually reaching 10 feet. The hospital basement flooded and the generators failed.

When nightfall came, the hospital and the city were in darkness. Water pressure dropped, toilets backed up and the temperatures began to swelter.

"The smell got to be rancid in no time," Pou said. "It burned the back of your throat."

The deteriorating situation had dire consequences. Those trapped in the hospital could hear voices in the dark. People had broken into a credit union office across the street and holed up there.

"We started hearing stories about murders, about gangs raping women and children," Pou said. "The women that had their children there were really scared."

They had a few flashlights but no spare batteries.

"One of the nurses showed me how to bump my foot against the next step to find it," Pou said. "We counted the steps from one floor to another so we wouldn't miss one and fall."

Pou said staff struggled to climb stairwells, carry supplies, and spent two-hour shifts squeezing ventilators to keep patients alive.

"The heat was so terrible, it wore you down," Pou said. "We were trying to keep the patients comfortable. The 9-year-old daughter of one of the nurses even took shifts fanning them."

Airboats evacuated some patients and babies from the nursery, but most remained. All Pou said she could do was try to keep critically ill patients comfortable.

"Tuesday night was when we realized we were going to be there for a while," Pou said.

They gathered supplies, rationed food and water with non-patients, and prayed.

About seven medical staffers, including Pou, stayed with patients. Others went to the roof and the ground floor to coordinate the intermittent rescue efforts with the few boats and helicopters that showed up.

"When a helicopter left, we never knew if they would be back," Pou recalled. "They might be sent to another rescue. And after dark it was too dangerous for them to fly at all."

Under the military's orders, the staff did reverse triage. The healthiest patients were taken out first in an effort to save the greatest number of people.

Many had to be carried to the roof. It was slow, backbreaking work, with as many as 10 people struggling up the dark stairs with a stretcher. At least 34 people died waiting for rescuers.

Pou was one of the last to leave Memorial. She returned to New Orleans — her house had not been flooded — from Baton Rouge a few months later at Thanksgiving. In January 2006, she started working at a Baton Rouge hospital, trying to put Katrina behind her.

Then, in July 2007, she was greeted by four police officers on her arrival home from a 13-hour day of surgery. They handcuffed her, still in her scrubs, and drove her to jail. She was booked on four counts of second-degree murder.

Attorney General Charles Foti accused Pou and two nurses of using a "lethal cocktail" of medication to kill four elderly patients. Pou has always maintained she killed no one during those desperate days, though she acknowledges patients were sedated.

She was forced to give up private practice and started teaching at the LSU medical school in Baton Rouge.

Months of pain and frustration set in.

A year after their arrest, the New Orleans district attorney dropped charges against the nurses, and a grand jury refused to indict Pou. Two civil lawsuits in the deaths are pending.

"I felt very alone," Pou said of her year of fighting the criminal accusations. "Even if people were around me I felt an intense loneliness. It was as if no one knew what I was going through."

Pou's supporters believed she and the nurses acted heroically. A group of doctors and nurses held a rally on the anniversary of her arrest, and hundreds turned in support.

Her experience helped her get landmark state legislation approved to protect the actions of doctors and nurses during disasters.

"It was that support and prayer that got me through it," said Pou, who is back in private practice.

As Katrina's third anniversary nears, Pou said the experience was life-altering.

"I've learned a lot from this," she said. "I thought I had suffered at times in my life, but I had no idea the depths of pain one person could feel. I think that has made me a better person and certainly a more compassionate doctor."

Tuesday, July 15th 2008

Dear Friends and Supporters of Dr. Pou and the Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform:

The following article by Mary Foster of the Associated Press ran in dozens of newspapers and publications around the US regarding Dr. Pou and her work to successfully pass the most comprehensive disaster medicine reform legislation in America. Thank you for your continued support of Dr. Pou!

New legislation pleases doctor accused of murder
By MARY FOSTER 07/15/2008, 11:50 AM ET

NEW ORLEANS - Dr. Anna Pou thought nothing could be worse than five days spent in a flooded hospital following Hurricane Katrina, struggling to keep patients alive and hoping for rescue.

That was before she was arrested and accused of deliberately murdering four desperately ill patients.

On Monday, Pou (pronounced Poe) credited that experience for new landmark legislation designed to protect medical personnel in Louisiana from civil suits and provide a board of professionals to review criminal charges.

"Throughout the whole ordeal, I talked about wanting something good to come out of it," Pou told the Associated Press. "I was a little naive because I believed that if medical personnel did the best they could during an emergency they wouldn't be sued."

On June 8, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the last bill in a three-piece package designed to protect medical personnel and patients in future disasters.

In the aftermath of Katrina, Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti accused Pou and two nurses - Cheri Landry and Lori Budo - of killing hospital patients after the Aug. 29, 2005, storm. The Orleans Parish district attorney dropped charges against the nurses, and a grand jury later refused to indict Pou.

Foti accused the women of using morphine and sedatives - which he described as a "lethal cocktail" - to kill four patients, ages 62 to 90, who would have otherwise survived the sweltering, chaotic conditions at Memorial Medical Center.

Pou, a cancer surgeon who pushed for the new laws, said the accusations inspired her to see to it that doctors, nurses and other medical workers would be protected during future disasters.

"I think what happened to the three of us could really hurt volunteering across the nation," Pou said. "People all across the country told me they would worry about stepping in during a disaster, worry about what they might face."

Two of the new laws limit civil lawsuits against medical professionals who work during a declared disaster. The third lets prosecutors use a medical panel to review evidence when a doctor or nurse is suspected of euthanasia or other criminal medical actions during a disaster.

The measures extend the so-called Good Samaritan law, which protects those rendering emergency assistance from lawsuits, to health care professionals who are being paid during a disaster.

Another provision protects medical workers when "reverse" triage protocols are put into use during disasters. Those protocols make patients not expected to survive the last to be evacuated. Many doctors and nurses who stayed to serve during Hurricane Katrina faced civil lawsuits for patient deaths that occurred while waiting for evacuations because of that rule.

The third measure establishes an independent medical panel consisting of a coroner, a member of the medical community and a disaster medicine expert appointed by the governor.

Backers say the panel would base its opinion on scientifically reliable evidence which may help all parties avoid a lengthy grand jury process where there is no forensic basis for prosecution.

"I think this will not only protect the doctors and nurses during a disaster, it will guarantee patients that they will have medical workers to take care of them during a disaster," said Dr. Russell Klein, president of the Louisiana Medical Society. "Patients trapped in a hospital are going to want to know there will be doctors and nurses to take care of them."

The measures go into effect with any declared disaster.

Pou and others who worked to have the measure pass, hope it will catch on in other states as well.

"It's not just hurricanes, but floods, tornadoes, or terrorists attacks," Pou said. "And most disaster planners agree it's not a case of if something like that will happen, but when."

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform Legislative Update:
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

We are pleased to announce that all three components of our Disaster Medicine Reform Campaign were passed by the State Legislature and on their way to the Governor for his signature.

This legislative success puts Louisiana squarely at the forefront of
national efforts to provide badly needed civil and criminal protections for doctors and nurses who serve those in need during times of declared disasters. No other state has accomplished such sweeping reforms to protect their medical professionals.

Final copies of approved bills will be available on the Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform website in the next couple of days: www.cdmr.org.

The Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform is planning a press conference on Friday, June 20th with Governor Jindal, President Chaisson and Speaker Tucker to formally discuss this important legislative package.

Special thanks to all those who helped by contacting their legislators and sending donations to the Committee.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Times-Picayune

Panel OKs reviews of doctor acts in disasters
Prosecutors could seek board's advice
By Ed Anderson

BATON ROUGE -- Legislation designed to help prosecutors determine whether to file charges against doctors, nurses or other health care professionals for their actions during or immediately after disasters sped out of a Senate committee Tuesday, leaving it one step short of going to Governor Bobby Jindal's desk.

The Judiciary A Committee unanimously approved House Bill 1379 by House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, sending it to the full Senate, where it is expected to be approved.

The bill establishes a three-member Emergency-Disaster Medicine Review Panel to examine disaster-related decisions by health-care personnel. A district attorney or state attorney general could choose to ask the board for an evaluation of a medical professional's conduct in a case before launching a prosecution. The findings of the panel would be advisory and not binding, Tucker said.

The review panel would be made up of the parish coroner where the medical services were rendered, a member of the state professional society that oversees the conduct of the medical professional and an "expert in disaster medicine" named by the governor.

The bill is the result of a case involving Dr. Anna Pou and two nurses. Former Attorney General Charles Foti had the three arrested in 2006 on murder charges for allegedly administering lethal doses of drugs to patients left ill and sweltering in Memorial Medical Center in the days after Hurricane Katrina struck. Charges were never filed against the three.

Prosecutors who use the panel to determine whether a criminal charge is warranted must refer their investigative files to the committee in confidence for its review, and the panel's response to the prosecutor would also be confidential.

June 6, 2008

COMMITTEE FOR DISASTER MEDICINE REFORM ACTION ALERT: VOTES TO BE TAKEN ON ALL THREE REFORM BILLS ON TUESDAY!

Dear Friends and Supporters:

House Bill 1379 by Speaker Tucker which provides badly needed criminal liability protections for doctors and nurses serving in times of declared disasters will be voted on by the Senate Judiciary A Committee on Tuesday, June 10th. Please call your state senator and encourage him / her to support HB 1379! Names and email addresses for these committee members follow:

Senator Julie Quinn - quinnj@legis.state.la.us
Senator Jack Donahue - donahuej@legis.state.la.us
Senator Reggie Dupre, Jr. - lasen20@legis.state.la.us
Senator Nick Gautreaux - gautreauxn@legis.state.la.us
Senator Robert Kostelka - kostelka@legis.state.la.us
Senator Mike Michot - lasen23@legis.state.la.us
Senator Edwin Murray - murraye@legis.state.la.us

Also, Senate bills 301 and 330 by Senate President Chaisson will be heard on the House floor on Tuesday. Please contact your state house member and urge their votes FOR these important civil liability protections. The list of state house members may be found at www.legis.state.la.us.

Thanks once again to all supporters and donors for making the success of these bills possible!

June 2, 2008

Medical Criminal Liability Bill Passes State House

House Bill 1379 by Speaker Jim Tucker passed the state house late last week by a vote of 102-0, providing needed criminal protections for medical professionals serving in times of declared emergencies.

The legislation allows for the establishment of a 3-member medical review panel to study medical evidence presented by the state's Attorney General or a District Attorney and provide a recommendation to that law enforcement official prior to any arrest or formal charges if the alleged incident occurred during times of a declared emergency in the "emergency cone".

The bill now moves to the state senate where a vote is expected the week of June 9th.

Many thanks to all who assisted and continue to support the efforts of the Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform.

May 17, 2008

The Times-Picayune
CNN, TP Seek Release of Files
Foti's Katrina probe kept under wraps

The Times-Picayune and CNN on Friday asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court decision that will keep secret documents detailing the investigation into deaths at Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina.

Because the probe into the deaths has been over for months, the newspaper and television network said, the public has a right to understand whether the evidence in the case supported former Attorney Gen. Charles Foti's view that a doctor and two nurses carried out mercy killings on four patients at Memorial.

In July 2006, Foti arrested Dr. Anna Pou and two nurses and accused them of drugging to death four patients at Memorial three days after Hurricane Katrina crippled the hospital, leaving it isolated and flooded.

The case ended about a year later when a grand jury in New Orleans declined to indict Pou and charges against the nurses were dropped.

After the criminal case ended, the news organizations filed public records requests to review investigative materials. Foti, who was defeated in his re-election bid last year, has supported release of the documents, which he says would vindicate his decision to arrest the doctor and nurses.

In September, Donald Johnson, a state district judge in Baton Rouge, ordered the public release of nearly all the documents.

Attorneys for Memorial employees appealed Johnson's decision, saying it violated the privacy of people who willingly gave Foti's investigators interviews that they expected to remain confidential.

State law shields from public view records pertaining to criminal litigation that is pending or "reasonably anticipated" until the case is over. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal decision, which is signed by four of the seven judges on the panel, said the files in the Memorial case do not become public -- even though there has been no investigative activity on the case since July -- because there is no statute of limitations on murder prosecutions.

Voting for secrecy were 1st Circuit Judges Robert Downing, Jefferson Hughes, Randolph Parro and John Pettigrew. Judges John Guidry, Page McClendon and Jewel "Duke" Welch each dissented from the decision, providing separate reasons.

In appealing the decision, the news organizations said the 1st Circuit Court misread the law because while a prosecution is theoretically possible as long as the medical providers are alive, that doesn't mean it is "reasonably anticipated." In this case, the Orleans district attorney and the state attorney general have said they view the case as over.

May 20, 2008

The Times-Picayune
May 17, 2008

CNN, TP Seek Release of Files
Foti's Katrina probe kept under wraps

The Times-Picayune and CNN on Friday asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to overturn an appeals court decision that will keep secret documents detailing the investigation into deaths at Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina.

Because the probe into the deaths has been over for months, the newspaper and television network said, the public has a right to understand whether the evidence in the case supported former Attorney Gen. Charles Foti's view that a doctor and two nurses carried out mercy killings on four patients at Memorial.

In July 2006, Foti arrested Dr. Anna Pou and two nurses and accused them of drugging to death four patients at Memorial three days after Hurricane Katrina crippled the hospital, leaving it isolated and flooded.

The case ended about a year later when a grand jury in New Orleans declined to indict Pou and charges against the nurses were dropped.

After the criminal case ended, the news organizations filed public records requests to review investigative materials. Foti, who was defeated in his re-election bid last year, has supported release of the documents, which he says would vindicate his decision to arrest the doctor and nurses.

In September, Donald Johnson, a state district judge in Baton Rouge, ordered the public release of nearly all the documents.

Attorneys for Memorial employees appealed Johnson's decision, saying it violated the privacy of people who willingly gave Foti's investigators interviews that they expected to remain confidential.

State law shields from public view records pertaining to criminal litigation that is pending or "reasonably anticipated" until the case is over. The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal decision, which is signed by four of the seven judges on the panel, said the files in the Memorial case do not become public -- even though there has been no investigative activity on the case since July -- because there is no statute of limitations on murder prosecutions.

Voting for secrecy were 1st Circuit Judges Robert Downing, Jefferson Hughes, Randolph Parro and John Pettigrew. Judges John Guidry, Page McClendon and Jewel "Duke" Welch each dissented from the decision, providing separate reasons.

In appealing the decision, the news organizations said the 1st Circuit Court misread the law because while a prosecution is theoretically possible as long as the medical providers are alive, that doesn't mean it is "reasonably anticipated." In this case, the Orleans district attorney and the state attorney general have said they view the case as over.

May 19, 2008

Dr. Pou to Appear on WLAE-TV¹s ³Ringside: Politics With A Punch²

Dr. Anna Pou will discuss the work of The Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform on Jeff Crouere¹s TV program, ³Ringside: Politics With a Punch² on Friday, May 23 at 7:30 PM and on Sunday, May 25 at 10 PM.

Please show your support for Dr. Pou by tuning into WLAE-TV.

May 16, 2008
Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform Legislative Update

Senate Bills 301 and 330 by Senate President Chaisson will be heard in the House Civil Law Committee on Monday, May 19.

These bills provide for civil protection of doctors and nurses serving in time of declared emergencies. Please contact the following Civil Law Committee members and urge them to support SB 301 and SB 330 as a way to give future patients the assurances they need that they will be well served by Louisiana's medical professionals the next time disaster strikes our state.

Civil Law & Procedure Committee:

Rep. Timothy Burns - larep089@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Nicholas Lorusso - larep094@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Neil Abramson - abramson@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Richard Burford - burfordr@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Charles Chaney - chaneyb@legis.state.la.us

Rep. George Cromer - cromerg@legis.state.la.us

Rep. John Edwards - edwardsj@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Franklin Foil - foilf@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Walker Hines - hinesw@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Robert Johnson - johnsoro@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Rosalind Jones - jonesr@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Fred Mills, Jr. - larep046@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Clifton Richardson - richardc@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Thomas Willmott - willmott@legis.state.la.us

May 15, 2008

The Times-Picayune
Medical Review Panel in Disasters Backed
Bill was inspired by 3 N.O. arrests
By Ed Anderson

BATON ROUGE -- Legislation designed to rein in criminal prosecutions of doctors and nurses for actions in helping the sick and injured after a natural disaster or during a state of emergency unanimously cleared the House Judiciary Committee and now heads to the full House for debate.

House Speaker Jim Tucker, R-Algiers, the chief sponsor of a substitute for his original House Bill 838, said the measure was sparked by the post-Hurricane Katrina arrests and investigation of Dr. Anna Pou and two nurses at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans.

The three were arrested in 2006 by then-Attorney General Charles Foti and booked with murdering at least four patients. Charges were never filed by then-Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie Jordan, and a grand jury that investigated the case declined to issue indictments.

Tucker's bill would authorize a three-member panel -- known as the
Emergency-Disaster Medicine Review Panel -- to be set up at the request of a prosecutor to review cases. The prosecutor, however, does not have to seek creation of a panel or follow its recommendations.

The panel would be made up of the parish coroner, a member of the Louisiana State Medical Society in the case of a doctor; the Louisiana State Nurse's Association in the case of a nurse, or a member of a "peer organization" representing another medical discipline; and a gubernatorial appointee with experience in disaster medicine.

The purpose of the panel, Tucker said, is to assess the clinical judgment of the person being investigated to determine whether judgment "was exercised in good faith given the circumstances" under which the care was given at the time.

"This bill is needed to protect the attorney general from having experts giving junk scientific advice," said Dr. Steven Karch, who worked on the Memorial case for prosecutors but whose evaluations were ignored. "There was no evidence to take before a grand jury" against Pou, Karch said.

Tucker said an earlier version of his bill mandated the panel's evaluations be followed, but was opposed by the district attorneys association because it felt it infringed on their right to bring charges. He said his new bill relieved that fear and is backed by the district attorneys.

The bill states that unless suspects are flight risks, they cannot be
arrested until after the panel meets.

Pou, who was at the hearing, told reporters that if the state had such a law in the days after Katrina, Foti might not have been as eager to move against her and the two nurses. "It was a media circus for me," she said. "It (the bill) will stop the insanity."

Pou's attorney, Rick Simmons, said that although the bill makes the panel mainly optional, public pressure would almost require a prosecutor use it.

"I don't think they will ignore it," said Simmons, a former prosecutor.

May 14, 2008
Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform Legislative Update

House Bill 838 by Speaker Tucker passed The House Judiciary Committee unanimously today and will be heading to the House for a vote in the next week or two. HB 838 deals with reforming the state's criminal liability laws for doctors and nurses during times of declared emergency.

Thank you to all who contacted House committee members and assisted with the legislative success today. Special thanks are in order for the Louisiana District Attorney's Association for assisting in developing an excellent Bill and for their support in passing this legislation.

Stay tuned for legislative updates and action.

May 7, 2008

Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform Legislative Update

More good news from the state capitol! Senate Bill 330 sponsored by Senate President Chaisson which is central to our civil legislative package passed the Senate on Tuesday by a vote of 35-0! Special thanks to Senator Chaisson and other senators who have been leading our fight in Baton Rouge.

Next up: House Bill 838, a key element of our criminal reform package by Speaker Tucker comes before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, May 14 at 9 a.m. This bill has recently been amended to accommodate concerns of the District Attorney's Association which was strongly opposing our legislation until a mutually favorable compromise was reached.

Please contact the following House committee members and urge them to VOTE FOR HOUSE BILL 838!

Rep. Cedric Richmond - larep101@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Neil Abramson - abramson@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Patrick Connick - connick@legis.state.la.us

Rep. John Bel Edwards - edwardsj@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Franklin Foil - foilf@legis.state.la.us

Rep. A.B. Franklin - franklina@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Elbert Guillory - larep040@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Rickey Hardy - hardyr@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Joe Harrison - harrisoj@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Walker Hines - hinesw@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Rosalind Jones - jonesr@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Walt Leger, III.- legerw@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Nicholas Lorusso - larep094@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Nickie Monica - monican@legis.state.la.us

Rep. M.J. "Mert" Smiley, Jr. - larep088@legis.state.la.us

Rep. Mack "Bodi" White, Jr.- larep064@legis.state.la.us

April 30, 2008
Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform Legislative Update

Here is a brief update on our civil and criminal legislative reform package:

SB 301 by President Joel Chaisson provides immunity for doctors and nurses during a declared emergency when doctors and nurses are at the direction of the military to evacuate or treat patients using disaster medicine protocol. This bill passed the Senate floor unanimously by a vote of 37-0 on April 28. The bill now heads to House committee where there is anticipated opposition.

In particular, this bill is a direct result of what happened at Lindy Boggs Hospital in New Orleans when the disaster rules changed during Katrina. Firefighters rescued able bodied patients on the 3rd day after Katrina hit, and left doctors and nurses to contend with dying patients.

In the Lindy Boggs example, government officials such as firefighters are immune from liability for decision making under triage protocol unless there are "intentional acts". Doctors and nurses are left with the potential for lawsuits for malpractice and "gross negligence" when an "expectant" patient dies during the evacuation process. Expectant means expected not to survive due to severity of injuries or due to lack of resources to treat.

How long are physicians and nurses obligated to stay with dying patients at risk to their own health and safety and later on risk litigation when trying to help patients under extreme circumstances?

SB 301 would allow for immunity for doctors and nurses when evacuating or treating patients, only during a declared state of emergency when disaster medicine protocol is in place.

SB 330 by President Chaisson provides a limitation of liability for medical personnel during a declared state of emergency ordered by the Governor. SB 330 was reported out favorably with amendments from Senate Judiciary A Committee on April 29.

SB 330 encourages doctors and nurses to stay in the disaster area and treat patients when a disaster like Hurricane Katrina hits without the fear of future litigation. Also, SB 330 encourages visiting doctors and nurses to come to the disaster area and treat patients without the fear of future litigation. Specific example - civil lawsuits against Dr. Anna Pou and the two nurses (Cherie Landry and Lori Budo) from Memorial Hospital in New Orleans.

HB 838 by Speaker Jim Tucker requires a review of health care services during a declared state of emergency prior to prosecution. The District Attorney's Association is lobbying hard to kill this bill. It will be heard in House Judiciary committee Thursday, May 15th.

PLEASE VISIT WWW.CDMR.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION AND REGULAR UPDATES.

April 29, 2008
Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform Legislative Update

We are pleased to announce that Senate Bill 301, a central piece of our civil liability reform package, passed the state senate by a vote of 37-0 on Monday. Congratulations to all who helped by contacting their Senators!

Action on our criminal liability legislation will begin next week and we are anticipating stiff opposition to the important changes we want to make which will protect both medical professionals and patients in times of declared disasters.

IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY ASSISTED THESE PRIVATELY FUNDED LEGISLATIVE REFORM EFFORTS PLEASE DO SO TODAY BY VISITING OUR WEBSITE (WWW.CDMR.ORG) AND BY WRITING YOUR OWN CHECK AND MAILING IT TO 748 CAMP STREET, NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130.

STAND BY FOR UPCOMING SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON PASSAGE OF OUR CRIMINAL LIABILITY REFORM BILLS!

April 25, 2008

I am pleased to report that our unprecedented efforts to reform Louisiana's disaster medicine laws have begun to meet with at least initial success.

Last week Senate Bill 301 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and is now headed to the Senate floor for a vote on Monday, April 28. PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE SENATOR TO URGE THEIR VOTE FOR SB 301 WHICH IS A CENTRAL PART OF THE CIVIL LIABILITY REFORM PACKAGE. CALL 225/342-2040 TO REACH YOUR SENATOR.

Also, SB 330 will be heard in Senate Judiciary A Committee on Tuesday (4-29). PLEASE CONTACT MEMBERS OF SENATE JUDICIARY A COMMITTEE (can be found at www.legis.state.la.us).

WHILE WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS MANY THOUGHT IMPOSSIBLE, WE HAVE MUCH TO DO AND THE BATTLE WILL SOON INTENSIFY. AT THIS POINT THE POWERFUL DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S ASSOCIATION OPPOSES OUR CRIMINAL LIABILITY BILLS, MAKING OUR EFFORTS MUCH MORE DIFFICULT AND EXPENSIVE.

WE NEED YOUR HELP IN THREE WAYS IMMEDIATELY:

1. Tell your friends and colleagues about the Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform and go to our website for regular updates and calls to action (www.cdmr.org).
2. Write a check to support our expensive and extensive lobbying and media
efforts: Committee for Disaster Medicine Reform, 748 Camp Street, New Orleans, 70130.
3. Contact your legislators and urge them to support all the Committee's bills to reform disaster medicine and protect both medical professionals and patients the next time disaster strikes Louisiana.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT.

Dr. Anna M. Pou

The New England Journal of Medicine Highlights Patient Care Issues During
Emergencies

January 7, 2008

Following are excerpts from the January 3, 2008 New England Journal of Medicine which Dr. Pou believes should be of interest to website viewers.

Dr. Pou and the Hurricane ‹ Implications for Patient Care during Disasters
Susan Okie, M.D.

During the flood after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, health care providers in marooned New Orleans hospitals worked in almost unimaginably difficult conditions while awaiting rescue. Nowhere was the situation more desperate than at Memorial Medical Center, where for 4 days a small staff struggled to care for critically ill patients in a dark building with no electric power, no fresh water, a flooded first floor, a nonfunctional sanitation system, and an interior temperature above 100°F.

Read More

New Article Raises Important Questions About Hospital Evacuations in Emergencies

January 3, 2008

A new article, written by Kenneth Kipnis, makes important point and raises valuable questions that need to be resolved regarding the responsibilities of hospital administrators and owners, doctors and nurses in federally declared emergencies such as natural disasters and terrorist acts that impact large numbers of people at one time. Dr. Pou highly recommends this article for persons interested in helping to bring awareness to these issues and in pursuing policy reforms that should be considered at state and
federal levels which will give both patients and medical professionals the kind of safeguards they need and deserve.

Full Article

Dr. Anna Pou Update

As many of you know, after nearly two years of life under a cloud of accusation, both the state of Louisiana and the Orleans Parish District Attorney have ended their criminal investigations into Dr. Anna Pou and her colleagues at Memorial Hospital following Hurricane Katrina.

Clearly this is very good news for Dr. Pou, nurses Lori Budo and Cheri Landry and for all who have sought justice for them for so long.

With the formal closure of all aspects of these long and costly investigations, Dr. Anna Pou has been fully cleared of any criminal wrong doing and is now free to reclaim her life and return to practicing medicine and treating patients who badly need her care.

Regrettably however, the Attorney General continues to use the media to justify the financial expense and emotional toll his now disproven allegations have cost the taxpayers and Dr. Pou.

Even now, after his investigation has closed, the Attorney General's staff continues to promote their hand - picked, well paid experts and their views on what happened at Memorial, rather than admit that a full review of these issues proves there was no wrong doing. That such an effort is taking place just weeks before his re-election date should surprise no one.

As such, the battle to redeem Dr. Pou's good name and to clear her of civil charges brought after she was unfairly arrested continues.

Stay Tuned.